EIN for foreign founders: how to get one without a US Social Security number

Nothing in a foreign-founder Delaware LLC works without an EIN. Form 5472 needs it. The Delaware franchise tax portal asks for it. Every US bank refuses to open an account without one. Stripe, Mercury, Wise, and Brex put EIN at step two of onboarding, after legal name. Until the EIN exists, the company is on paper only.

The conventional path takes six to eight weeks. The fast path takes one phone call. Both are open to founders with no Social Security number, no ITIN, and no US address. This is the breakdown.

Who needs an EIN and when

Every US entity that has employees, files any tax return, or operates a US bank account needs an EIN. For Delaware LLCs and C-Corps, this is functionally always — even a dormant single-member LLC needs an EIN to file Form 5472. The IRS issues EINs free of charge. Any service that charges a fee to "process" an EIN application is reselling something the founder can do directly in less time.

The Responsible Party rule (and the "Foreign" workaround)

Form SS-4 requires a "Responsible Party" — the human who controls the entity. Until 2017, the Responsible Party field demanded a US Social Security number or ITIN. Founders who had neither were stuck.

The 2018 update to the SS-4 instructions changed this. A Responsible Party who does not have an SSN or ITIN can write the word "Foreign" in the SSN/ITIN box on line 7b. The IRS accepts the application. This is not a workaround in the loophole sense — it is the official guidance, written in the instructions, ignored by most internet templates.

The three application channels (and their actual timing)

• Phone: the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line for international applicants, +1-267-941-1099, open 6:00am to 11:00pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. The agent issues the EIN by the end of the call. Same-day turnaround.
• Fax: SS-4 sent to +1-855-641-6935 (for entities without a US principal place of business). Turnaround is typically one to two weeks, not the six-to-eight-week figure repeated online — the IRS expedites international fax filings.
• Mail: SS-4 sent to "Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EIN International Operation, Cincinnati, OH 45999". Turnaround four to six weeks. Worst option, but still works.

The IRS website encourages the online EIN application, but that channel requires a Responsible Party with an SSN or ITIN. Foreign founders without either get stopped at step one. The fact that the online path closes is precisely why phone, fax, and mail still exist.

What to say on the phone

The phone application takes 15 to 30 minutes. The agent will ask for the information on Form SS-4 verbatim — fill the form out before you call, then read off it. The non-obvious questions:

• Reason for applying: usually "Started a new business" or "Banking purposes."
• Type of entity: "Limited Liability Company (LLC)" — then how many members, then default tax treatment (disregarded entity for single-member, partnership for multi-member, corporation if you have made the Form 8832 election).
• Date business started: the date the formation document was filed in Delaware.
• Closing month of accounting year: December for almost every startup.
• Number of employees expected in the next 12 months: zero is a valid answer.

At the end of the call the agent reads the EIN aloud. Write it down twice and confirm. The official confirmation letter (Form CP 575) follows by mail four to six weeks later — keep it; every bank will ask for it.

The five-step playbook

1. Form the entity first. Delaware Division of Corporations filing. Get the State File Number and the official formation date.
2. Fill out Form SS-4. Line 7b: write "Foreign" in the SSN/ITIN field if you do not have one. Line 6: your home-country address.
3. Call +1-267-941-1099 during business hours Eastern Time. Read the form to the agent. Receive the EIN on the call.
4. Save the EIN immediately. Bank account opening, Stripe onboarding, every other US filing depends on this nine-digit number.
5. Wait for the CP 575 confirmation letter. File it digitally. Most banks accept a PDF; some require the original — your registered agent forwards it.

How Cherry handles EIN

For Cherry’s foreign-founder cohort, EIN is the first compliance step and the one most likely to delay everything else. Cherry assists with the SS-4 paperwork, schedules the international-line call, captures the EIN, files it across every downstream system that needs it (banking, Stripe, Form 5472 readiness, Delaware franchise tax portal), and stores the CP 575 — so the entity moves from "filed" to "operational" without the six-week delay that catches first-time foreign founders.